Stomping Through the Savoy Cocktail Book

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Daily Archives: April 21, 2011

First, just a reminder that Sunday, April 24, 2011, is our monthly exercise in folly, Savoy Cocktail Book Night at Alembic Bar. If any of the cocktails, (they also have a great beer selection,) on this blog have captured your fancy, stop by after 6 and allow the skilled bartenders, (and me,) to make them for you. It is always a fun time.

Toddies.

Whisky Toddy
1 Teaspoonful of Sugar. (1 teaspoon caster sugar)
1/2 Wineglass of water. (Well, that should be 1 oz of water, I might have used a little less)
1 Wineglass of Whisky. (2 oz Four Roses K&L Single Barrel OBSO Cask Strength Kentucky Bourbon)
1 Small Lump of Ice.(Muddle sugar into water until dissolved, add ice and…) Stir with a spoon (until chilled), (garnish with freshly grated nutmeg) and serve.

Such is the primacy of the “Hot Toddy” these days, that the idea of making one cold often perplexes my fellow Savoy bartenders when we get an order at Alembic Bar. However, when reading David Wondrich’s awesome book, “Imbibe!From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to “Professor” Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar.” he notes that the toddy and the sling were essentially the same drink: Spirits, sugar, water, maybe ice, and maybe a garnish. Over time, the name “Toddy” became primarily associated with the hot version of the drink, while the name “Sling” went on to pepper pink, cherry flavored, gin based abominations in the areas near Indonesia. But more about Slings later. What we primarily concern ourselves with today is the “Toddy”.

If a “Cock-tail” is a “Bittered Sling” a “Toddy” (or “Sling”) is, essentially, an Old-Fashioned without Bitters.

Dissolve some sugar in water, add ice cube(s), pour over a tasty measure of spirit, stir until chilled, and garnish as fancy takes you.

It’s not rocket science, and if you, as I have instructed, use a particularly Tasty Spirit, you may find yourself omitting the sugar altogether, though I am not sure if that is still a Toddy.

This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the drinks in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, the, uh, Sauterne Cup.